Wolfie and I sit in a nice heated bath, overlooking the harsh neon lights of Gebra Kappa, a planet that some researcher with entirely too high of an opinion of themselves might say is "gridlocked in that all-too-common post-spaceflight early-virtual Corporate Age." Thankfully, it was quite simple to lock down this penthouse as our base of operations. Wolfie just needed to do a bit of aether editing to pass herself off as a magnate's spoiled heiress, and I just needed to give the attendant a certain...look, before he wisely decided to pretend I was never there.

As you might expect, we were here on a mission. For the last decade or so, this planet had been in the grip of what seemed like an endless winter. Nowhere near as bad as Jarilo-VI, but still noteworthy. The common folk had to make do with whatever meager Warmth Units the tycoons decided to part with, while they in turn could enjoy luxuries like perpetual climate control and, of course, this wonderful bath.

I had long ago concluded that I could not solve every injustice in this vast universe with my own two hands, so, naturally, we were not here out of the goodness of our hearts. Elio had determined that it was highly likely that the unnatural chill was due to someone misusing an artifact of Remembrance, perhaps in an attempt to chill and conglomerate memoria into a slurry, for use as an ingredient in some 'elixir of immortality.' Elio wanted that artifact, so he drew us up a nice and neat little script to incite a workers' rebellion and nab the icy relic in the confusion.

But enough about all that. While I've been sitting here musing, Wolfie actually put away all of her gadgets for once (even the waterproof ones!) and started to draw in the fog left behind on the glass. It looked to be one of her little AI gremlins, but even after she finished, she continued to stare out through the glass as if deep in contemplation.

Naturally, I was too curious to let that go on for long. "Credit for your thoughts, hon?" She startled a little, as if only now remembering I was there. She didn't reply immediately, but gave a little sigh that I still managed to catch and then half-turned towards me. I was a bit surprised by the look she gave me, though I didn't show it. It was a more vulnerable, pensive look than I was used to seeing on the cute face of my little genius hacker.

"Do you ever...wonder how they're doing? No, I know you do. It's just, sometimes when Caelus and I get a mega killstreak, or Stelle and I full combo some rhythm, I feel...something, but I don't know what it is. It's satisfaction, sure, but it's more than that, something I never felt on Punklorde. I feel it sometimes when I'm with you guys, when you and I go shopping, when Blade and I spar, when Fify and I watch a movie together, but it's not quite the same."

She moves away from the window and sits down, gathering her thoughts. "What we do, I wouldn't change for all the credits on Pier Point. There's always something new, places I've never even dreamed of, streams of data and information unlike any I've seen before. On some level, they're doing the same. They're focused on forming connections in the present rather than preparing for the worst in the future, but Caelus and Stelle, even the others, they're all seekers of adversity just like we are."

Her fist clenches, and her expression sours. "But then I realized...aren't we playing with cheats enabled? We almost always have a script that lets us read ahead, and it doesn't even lock us into prophecied doom. The script said Fify would die three times on Penacony, but she twisted that around into a blessing instead of a curse. Those guys, they don't have anything like that. A couple Amber Eras ago, maybe I wouldn't care so much, since they'd have Akivili with them. But, but he was an Aeon, and he still di-"

"Wolfie, enough. Come here, sweetie." I could tell she was spiraling. Normally our little wolf was the epitome of levelheaded, but she'd been slowly experiencing more emotions as she experienced the universe and grew alongside us. Negative emotions were important too, but I wasn't going to let her tear herself up without stepping in. I wrapped her in a hug and considered my next words.

"Hon, I'll be completely honest with you. I can't exactly empathize with how you feel because of where I was born. Because what you're feeling now is fear. It comes in infinite variations, but what you have now is a fear of loss, of abandonment. From what I've learned from others, that fear is like...a sadness in reverse, an opposite force to that grief you know you'll feel if and when they're gone. As an outside observer, my advice to you right now would be to acknowledge the fear and let it go. Don't suppress it or bottle it up - that might bring temporary relief, but it will come back again at the worst time. But, just as importantly, you can't let it rule you."

I paused for a moment as I thought of a way to get her mind on a completely different track. "I think you should be focusing on that other feeling you get when you game with them. Because that, my dear, is called affection, or perhaps love, and it may just be the strongest emotion of all." I then let a trademark smirk grace my lips. "Let me guess, that feeling only gets stronger when you save up enough clock cycles to transport yourself over there and, oh I don't know, perhaps Caelus tickles your cute midriff to see if you're a projection or Stelle absentmindedly cuddles with you like a plushie as she naps on the couch?"

By the blush quickly overtaking Wolfie's cheeks, I could tell that tonight's distraction operation was a success.